iOS 18: Are custom lock screen shortcuts finally coming to the iPhone?

Customizable lock screen shortcuts!

Now, we don't know that it's coming for certain, nor have we heard anything specific about such a minor feature coming to iOS, but hey, there are some reasons to think that Apple could employ such a feature in iOS 18.

See, it all boils down to the upcoming iPhone 16 range and its widely rumored Capture button, which will be situated on the right side of the devices, below the power button. The rumor mill agrees this one will be a solid-state capacitive button, which allows you to quickly open the camera app and immediately start taking a video recording or a regular photo. 

Of course, it's all based on rumors, so there's no way of knowing the full extent of the Capture button's potential capabilities, yet quickly interacting with the camera is almost certain.

So, with the Capture button on board, this will allow iPhone 16 users to interact with the camera app:

Naturally, it's pretty sensible to assume that Apple would want to avoid having two mostly redundant ways to engage the camera present on its upcoming iPhones. At least that's what the standards of the software division should be, I presume.

So, in light of the upcoming iPhone 16 range and the new Capture button, the timing would be perfect for Apple to finally allow us to customize the lock screen shortcuts on our iPhones! The standard flashlight/camera combo is undoubtedly mighty useful, but it will be undoubtedly great to be able to personalize the two shortcuts on the iOS lock screen. Sure, older iPhones naturally won't have the equivalent of a hardware button, so most users would have to make a choice which shortcut to have on the lock screen but hey, leave the choice to the users.

Such a move will surely fall in line with Apple's recently acquired gusto for customization, with the most recent iOS releases and iPhones giving us tons of customization features. The momentum is definitely there, all it takes for Apple is to do the obvious and release its lock screen from the walled garden.